detailed

detailed — adjective

1. A detailed report, description, or plan contains all the specific facts needed t

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

A detailed report, description, or plan contains all the specific facts needed to understand a subject completely.

Example

Detective Leila wrote a detailed report about the burglary at the jewellery shop.

collocation: detailed report

The detailed map showed every hiking trail inside the national park.

collocation: detailed map

Common collocations
  • detailed report
  • detailed description
  • detailed plan
  • detailed instructions
  • detailed map
  • detailed account
  • detailed analysis
  • detailed explanation
  • detailed schedule
  • detailed breakdown
Synonyms
  • thorough

    Focuses on completing every step with care; often used for checks or investigations

  • comprehensive

    Suggests wide coverage of all parts; more formal, common in academic or official contexts

  • elaborate

    Adds a sense of complexity and fine detail; can sometimes imply excess

  • in-depth

    Emphasises deep analysis of a single topic rather than broad coverage

Antonyms
  • brief

    Intentionally short; opposite of giving many specifics

  • vague

    Lacking clear or specific information

  • superficial

    Only covering the surface level; lacking depth

Grammar Patterns

very/more/most + detailed

detailed + noun

Usage Note

Frequently used with nouns such as report, description, plan, instructions, map, account, and analysis. As a gradable adjective, it can be strengthened with very, more, or most.

Common Mistakes

I wrote a detail report for my manager.
I wrote a detailed report for my manager.
'detail' is a noun; the adjective form 'detailed' is needed before the noun.
Could you give me more detail instructions?
Could you give me more detailed instructions?
'detail' cannot modify a noun; use 'detailed' instead.
The report was very detail.
The report was very detailed.
after a linking verb, use the adjective 'detailed', not the noun 'detail'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Thorough emphasises completing every step with care — a thorough check covers everything that could go wrong. Comprehensive suggests wide coverage of all parts of a subject — a comprehensive guide includes every topic. Elaborate adds a sense of complexity and fine detail; elaborate decorations have many intricate parts and can sometimes feel excessive. In-depth focuses on depth rather than breadth — an in-depth interview explores one topic at length. All four overlap with detailed, but choose thorough when process matters, comprehensive when scope matters, elaborate when richness matters, and in-depth when depth matters. For example, a detailed budget shows every expense; a thorough review checks every line; a comprehensive report covers all departments; an in-depth analysis explains one expense category.

thorough ↗comprehensive ↗elaborate ↗in-depth ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • very detailed
  • highly detailed
  • extremely detailed
  • more detailed
  • most detailed

Phrases

  • in more detail
  • go into detail

Prepositions

  • detailed in

Etymology

FrenchEnglish

The word detailed comes from detail (noun) plus the suffix -ed. Detail entered English from French détail, meaning 'a small piece or part of something larger'. The French word came from détailler, meaning 'to cut into pieces' — from dé- ('apart') and tailler ('to cut'). The adjective form has been used since the early 1800s to describe something that has been broken down into its specific parts.